Tulsa Mayfest will make its return to downtown in 2027

Six months after being held at Mother Road Market and other Route 66 venues, Mayfest organizers announced Friday the long-running arts festival will return to downtown Tulsa May 14-16. 

Organizers say next year’s festival will be where it was held for many years along East Third Street from South Boston Avenue to Main Street and then south on Main to East Fifth Street. 

Applications are open for professional artists, student artists, musical performers, mobile performers and student performers. There are also sponsorship opportunities available. Interested participants can find application and submission requirements at TulsaMayfest.org.

“I am pleased to serve as Honorary Chair of the 2027 Tulsa International Mayfest,” Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell said in a statement. “Tulsa is the arts capital of northeast Oklahoma, and Mayfest is a major draw for the region, celebrating locally acclaimed and nationally recognized visual and performing artists.”

Mayfest started downtown in 1973 as Jubilee ‘73 in celebration of the Junior League of Tulsa’s 50th anniversary. By the end of the decade, it would be renamed Mayfest. 

After decades of being located at and around Williams Center Green, the festival relocated in 2019 to the Tulsa Arts District. The following year, the Arts and Humanities Council, known as ahha, took over operations until its closure in 2022. Then The University of Tulsa oversaw operations until January 2026. Since then, the nonprofit event has been run by a volunteer steering committee, chaired by Mary Jo Sartain, that reports to the organizational board. 

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